Rooms + Cities
11 Rooms and their Cities 4 Rooms and Porto
4
6
Exhibition layout
7
Raison d’être
11 Rooms and their cities 10
Location map
12
Gallery 3/6
18
Visualizzazione dello spazio
24
Main concert hall
30
Markthalle
36
Central court
42
Monument to the resistance
48
Treppenhalle
54
Yellow house
60
Funeral room
66
Salón
72
Auditorium Comparative studies
4 Rooms and Porto 80
Location map
82
Market hall
88
Wash chamber
94
Stairwell
102
Tiled hall Comparative studies
6
The City through Rooms ‘a critical architecture can emerge by ignoring the big and the general and working with the minute and highly specific’
- Adam Caruso
This exercise in re-drawing, deconstructing and comparing the city through a series of unseen places begins to articulate the room’s disposition to the city. These readings of space reveal a warped human perspective as you view the city through the room; compared with a study of the city in its entirety. The strength of this thinking through drawing exercise lies in its composition; this method reveals a way of looking at all cities. The nature of this cognitive collection of data questions space by proposing a boundary of perception; that a room viewed is nothing but your interpretation of it. In contrast the four rooms in Porto offer a more comprehensive take on a single city as they have all been experienced. Rooms are shaped by their cities and together rooms make up the city. Comparing these spaces with one another after articulating their nature in isolation suggests a device to inform a reaction to all cities. ‘But as I reflect on these memories – as they are to some extent impermanent, exaggerated, constantly re-imagined it is clear to me that, whether I have personally experienced being in these rooms or not, they play a fundamental part in informing my reaction to all rooms.’
- Stephen Bates
11 Rooms and their Cities
Gallery 3/6
Visualizzazione dello Spazio
Main Concert Hall
Markthalle
Central Court
Monument to the Resistance
Treppenhalle
Yellow House
Funeral Room
Sal贸n
Nottingham Contemporary
Casa da Musica
Irish language centre
Neues Museum
Resurrection Chapel
Auditorium Teatro Olimpico 10
Olivetti showroom
Aarau
Cuneo
Flims
Murcia Town Hall
9
5
7
1
8
6
3
10
4
2 11
Gallery 3/6
Nottingham Contemporary Nottingham 2009 Caruso St John room within a room, engaging the street, framing a view, disguised mediator, hidden structure, blank room, found space, pyramidal skylight, reflecting window, sparse interior, invisible threshold
12
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange Positioned within the historic quarter mile of Lace Market in Nottingham, this building holds a significant location within the city. The Contemporary sits on Garners Hill, once home to several cave dwellings, a Saxon fort and a medieval town hall. Historically the site was at the heart of the world’s lace industry during the British Empire and is now a protected world heritage site. Perched half way up Garners Hill, the contemporary serves as both a new landmark for the area but a place of homage to what once was.
The room in numbers 15.5m 13m 10m 0 0 0 1 2 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
1 9m 2.5m
rooms within rooms window width window height
14
Entered through a generous doorway from the main gallery space, Gallery 3/6 is a large open volume devoid of ornamentation. On the right, a substantial window frames a view to the Weekday Cross statue on the street, engaging with the public realm and bringing the outside in. The window sits on the wall like a piece of art in the gallery. From the street, the deliberate framing of the rooms interior draws the observer towards the window and into the space, creating a relationship between inside and out. On the interior, the height of the main space is greatly reduced next to the window; a scale adjustment which creates an invisible threshold within the room. It becomes a room within a room. This ambiguous space between the room and city acts as a mediator and a catalyst for representation.
Notes for a traveller Gallery 3/6 is located behind the northern facade of the Nottingham Contemporary. To travel to the gallery 3/6 first take a train to Nottingham town centre, then exit the station and either catch the number 8 bus north towards the Contemporary or take a 10 minute walk up Middle Hill Road. The gallery is free to enter and opens Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 7pm.
16
A mediator between the room and the city
Room
Envelope
Openings
Threshold To City
Room within Room
Mediator
Visualizzazione dello Spazio Olivetti showroom Venezia 1957 Carlo Scarpa
building inside a building, raised threshold, elbow room, liquid floor, cascading stair, hanging mezzanine, suspicious furniture, interior transparencies
18
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The Procuratie Vecchie, re-built in 1514, conventionally defines Piazza San Marco’s edge condition. Behind one of the 50 arches sits a museum for the display of artefacts; once on sale within the room. Externally the showrooms long facade is revealed below an external atrium behind the arcade, its restructuring has denied the ‘firmness’ of the old stone lintels; their memory and image are all that remain.
The room in numbers 19m 3.5m 4.1m 3 17 9 13 3 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
0.32m elevation from piazza level of mezzanine 2.1m over entrance 1.9m over tiled floor 29 number of shelves 2.4m height of doorway 2.1m width of doorway
20
The display space is contained within a narrow rectangular room, accessible from the piazza through a folding gate of metal. The room has ten windows; one looking south, framing the activity of the Piazza. Lifted, one foot from the ground on a bed of concrete, the lower level is organised by primary coloured irregular glass mosaics which reference the intarsia pavements that decorate Venetian church floors. Slabs of Aurisina marble wrap the pre-existing pilaster and polished plaster line the walls; artificial lights, just off centre, hide in its depth. The stone staircase to the north rolls down from the teak covered steel mezzanine which is suspended from the ceiling. The room contains machines, hung on rosewood shelves, lit from above. One sculpture of a nude rests at the entrance on a plinth of black stone. The concreteness of the floor structure, stepped above the flood datum, is denied by the unnerving fluidity fabricated by the irregular mosaics. This loss of ground is maintained by the shelves, hung from the mezzanine. The intensity of the room comes from its tension with the city as the manipulation of its details expose the illusion of Venice’s terra firma.
Notes for a traveller The Olivetti showroom is located within Rilevo Correr on the north arcade of the Piazza San Marco. It is an hour’s walk from the train station, but the narrow streets of Venice are a warren to navigate. A simpler approach is from the south by ferry.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
22
Denying the pervasive illusion
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
Section through Venice
Main Concert Hall Casa da Musica Porto, 2005 OMA
acoustic glass, shoe box, monument view, plywood skin, steel floor, gold leaf, sliding chairs, acoustic cushion, exchanging views
24
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The Casa da Musica, constructed between 1999 and 2005, was perceived to be the new icon to celebrate Porto as the European Culture capital in 2001. The building was designed by Rem Koolhaas who intended to break barriers found within traditional concert hall design. The main concert hall uniquely has a visual exchange with the city, achieved using acoustic glass walls positioned at facing ends of the room. The translucent walls allow natural light to flood into the concert hall during the day, and broadcast internal activities to the city at night. This glazing is also applied to surrounding openings to connect the adjacent programme and circulation routes to the concert hall. The building is positioned to frame views of the Monument to the Heroes of the Peninsula war, which is situated at the centre of the Jardim da Boavista. As one of the major public spaces in Porto, part of the city acts as a backdrop to the stage. The room in numbers 53.7m 22.1m 17.5m 2 26 0 7 1238
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
2.9m 3kg 5m
height of doorway amount of gold on walls height of glass pane
26
The programme wrapping around the concert hall, almost traditionally lifts the room above its surroundings. This elevated height allows a strong connection between the room and a much larger urban arrangement, highlighting it as a major public venue and an urban artefact within the city. The functional rectangular composition and sterile nature of the concert hall’s interior significantly resists the surrounding skewed programme. Differing from tradition, the Casa da Musica presents the Portuguese orchestra to an external audience; while representing the progression from a highly traditional typology.
Notes for a traveller The Casa da Musica is located on the north- west periphery of the Rotunda da Boavista in Porto, north of the city centre. The simplest way to travel through Porto is by tram; sharing its name with the building the closest station is highlighted on the yellow line. Guided tours are available daily at 11:00 and 16:00 and last for approximately one hour.
28
Markthalle
Aarau Switzerland 2002 Miller + Maranta historic block, urban mediator, local activity, timber shelter, permeable structure, rhythmic construction, double-height room, internal street, free movement
30
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The market hall is a light timber shelter located in a dense urban block. This timber shelter rests within its new stone boundary directing movement both through the hall as well as around it. The timber room defined by a rhythmic construction which provides glimpses to the city. The stone room is within the inner and outer walled ring of the old town.
The room in numbers 27m 16m 6 1 0 1 0 0 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
172
number of openings
32
The market hall was built in 2002 20 years after the demolition of a number of commercial buildings. This large open scar in the old urban grain occupies a long frequented route defined by buildings on either side. This light timber frame sits in stark contrast with the heavy limestone prevalent in the city. This structure is offset from the adjacent buildings, bending gradually to trace their form. Both the position and configuration of the structure accommodate movement around the hall and define a new urban space to the north. Narrow timber elements placed vertically at 50cm centres form the faรงade. These divide into a solid low level band and an open high level band. The interior continues the external rhythm through the roof structure. The parapet is set back to add to the slender appearance of the building. Only a single column and major beams break this rhythm and the otherwise open space inside to enable flexibility of stall arrangement. The Douglas fir timber is treated with a copper-pigmented glaze giving the structure a light bronze tone. Views of surrounding facades are framed between the low wall and roof which puts these buildings on display to remind the user of their location
Notes for a traveller The market hall is located in Färberplatz Dyers’ Square in Aarau between the inner and outer walled rings of the old town. The approach to this room from Kasinostrasse metro station is a five minute walk.
1000m
Old Town in City
2000m
10m
Stone Room
34
30m
Timber Room in Old City
60m
3m 20m
A room in an urban room
Timber Room
6m
The timber room on the stone room
Central Court
Irish Language Centre Derry 2009 O’Donnel + Tuomey mediating courtyard, internal facade, central volume, material simplicity, structural legibility, carved space, wrapped vessel, prominent skylight, cultural dwelling
36
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The oldest planned city in Ireland: a city of a river and walls; of plots; boundaries; topographical and built; yielded hints of other demarcations, not so much defined as inflected. The experience of the city as a visitor certain thresholds,topographical and built, yielded hints of other demarcations, held by the inhabitants ossify when experienced alone. Nestled between a terrace of mid-eighteenth century practices of imperialism. The building retracts from the street. Its entrance is raised and discrete from the court in front, Behind the entry portico, of the reserved public facade. Its connection with the larger city is not achieved through objectification, but as a point, not with a spire but by its tall lantern which covers the internal courtyard, legible on the skyline.
The room in numbers 15.8m 6.7m 16.5m 4 22 0 4 27 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
2 75mm 75mm 3
bridges width of shuttering width of floor boards escape routes
38
The rectangular site, contained on three sides with the north end facing the street. A continuous terrazzo floor connects the footpath to the building’s interior. The entry portico which ingests around corners and past reception programme to be quickly deposited within the central void. This deconstructs the barrier between inside and out. The glass roofed trapezoidal courtyard’s permanent concrete form is perforated by circulating elements which cross and overlook the sky lit vessel; contained by its peripheral programme. The expressed 75mm timber board marked formwork sympathise with the rational brick dimensions visible along the street. The selective insertions are built of a ship grade steel finished in the industry standard red oxide. Small, semi-permanent blue painted timber insertions help to mediate the relationship between the void and the adjoining spaces, whilst the horizontal Glazed screens to the facade and courtyards are framed in powder-coated aluminium.
Notes for a traveller The colourful skylight of An Gaeláras is visible from the walls of the old city of Derry. Walk north-west from this view and exit the historic boundary via Castle Gate. Descending from the historic fortifications, turn right along Waterloo Street past Waterloo Place. Then turn right onto Great James Street. Nestled within a terrace, in the second block on the right the building’s folded concrete facade is marked Cultúrlann.
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODES
K EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
40
SK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODE
Monument to the Resistance Cuneo 1962 Aldo Rossi
war memorial, collective memory, raised piazza, panoramic view, battlefield, open to the sky, infinite room, carved volume, reflective space, removed from the city, unbuilt
42
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange Aldo Rossi’s Monument to the Resistance was designed to be a permanent memorial to the Partisan fighters of WWII. Although never realized, the site lies on the edge of Cuneo with views overlooking a historic battlefield. Rossi’s idea was that the monument would become part of the collective memory of the city and be representative, not only of the soldiers, but also the site itself. The room is an ‘enclosed piazza’ raised 5.5m above the ground. Externally the monument appears as a 12m masonry cube. It is a physical reminder of past events represented as a triumphal piece of architecture. The size and form of the monument signifies its importance and sense of permanence within the landscape. The proposal also included the names of the lost soldiers engraved on the stone as a memorial. The monument is a physical reminder of past events represented as a triumphal piece of architecture. Its size and form signifies its importance and sense of permanence within the landscape. The room in numbers 5.7m 10m ∞ 1 22 0 0 0 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
1.5m 12m
width of stair top width of strair bottom
44
As you move closer, visitors begin to read the carved out space within. A steep set of steps taper inwards to guide you up into the monument. Once you begin the ascent views to the sky are revealed, but it is not until you reach the top does the ‘room’ define itself. The space is completely enclosed by high walls, except for the view to the sky above and a panoramic view at eye level over the battlefield. Internally the monument removes the visitor from the city and becomes a place of remembrance and contemplation.
Notes for a traveller The monument to the resistance can only be found in the imagination of the reader. For more information take the lift to level 4 of the Matthew building, enter the Duncan of Jordanstone library. Head to aisle 5 to find book number 72(45) 19 ROS: Aldo Rossi: Buildings and Projects. Turn to page 29 and there is all the information you need.
An infite room, removed from the city, connected to the landscape of the past Monument to the Resistance Cuneo, unbuilt
46
An infinite room An infite room, removed from the city, connected to the landscape of the past Monument to the Resistance Cuneo, unbuilt An infite room, removed from the city, connected to the landscape of the past
An infite room, removed from the city, connected to the landscape of the past Monument to the Resistance Cuneo, unbuilt
An infinite room
Treppenhalle
Neues Museum Berlin 1859 & 2009 F.A. Stuler & D. Chipperfield museum island, war damage, historic shell, sensitive insertion, three levels, repeating stair, tracing route, subtle materials, memory void, gathering space, statue view
48
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange Located in the heart of Berlin, this building sits amongst landmarks; the Pergamon museum to the North, the Berliner Dom to the South, Alexanderplatz Television Tower to the East and Friedrichstrasse train station to the West. During the Second World War, the Neues Museum was damaged and fell into disrepair. The intervention project restored the museum, re-making the missing sections and returning artefacts to display once more.
The room in numbers 37.3m 15.7m 17.2m 3 148 8 11 13 2
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
4.5m 2.5m 2
width of main stair width of secondary stair lion statues
50
Thresholds define the relationship between this room and its city: a room within a building; a building within a complex; a complex on an island; an island in a district; a district in Berlin. Eye level windows in the stair hall display the city as an artefact; reminding visitors of Berlin’s violent past. A visual connection to a statue on the steps of the Altes Nationalgalerie communicates the link between inside and out. Spread over three levels, several stages of enclosure exist within the room; its perceived boundary differs from its true boundary. The room is central in the building plan, and three sets of steps lead from the entrance to the public courtyard. A colonnade surrounds this courtyard and the river creates a physical boundary to the immediate city. The individual treatment of this room presents a new attitude to intervention. It does not contrast or copy, disguise or display. Variance between old and new is visible yet subtle; bullet-holed bricks and smooth white cement occur side by side. The stair echo’s the route and form of the previous structure, without replicating it. It is a vessel for people, circulating them through the museum and acting as a gathering space. The room represents the history of the city, the memory of its past and the destruction caused by the war, whilst it exchanges both people and knowledge.
Notes for a traveller The Neues Museum is situated amongst a family of historic buildings on the north of Museum Island. Take a train to Hackescher Markt S-bahn station and look for the landmark Berlin Cathedral. Cross the closest bridge over the river Spree and it is hidden behind a colonnade.
The Extents of a
52
The extents of a room in a city
Neues M Ber
a Room in a City
Museum rlin
Yellow House Flims Switzerland 1999 Valerio Olgiati
alpine mountains, white box, old shell, new structure, monolithic volume, masonry walls, exhibition space, timber beams, diagonal column, top floor
54
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange This house was built in 1977 by the architect Rudolf Olgiati, the father of Valerio Olgiati and became known as ‘the yellow house’ due to its original painted colour. Initially, the ground floor had a commercial use as a vegetable shop and the upper floors accommodated the Parish house of Flims uses it for exhibitions. At the time of construction, Olgiati made an agreement with the Parish to ensure that any future renovations of the building should maintain his architectural principals. Among other things, they agreed that it should be painted white and the roof be finished with stones. After the death of his father in 1995, Valerio Olgiati started the refurbishment of ‘the yellow house’ and completed it in 1999.
The room in numbers 11.5m 8.5m 5.2m 1 0 1 11 1 1
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
4 4 4 4
timber beams roof planes floor sections lights
56
During renovation, the interior was completely replaced with a new solid timber structure. This dominating structure is repeated on all floors and divides the room into four sections of different sizes. The external masonry shell was retained but the plaster coat was removed from the surface to reveal the natural stones hidden beneath. Any unnecessary openings were filled with concrete and the old roof was replaced by stone slabs of random shapes. The yellow house is located at the highest point on a curving axis through the town, this exposes it from both sides. In contrast, the buildings form is removed from the vernacular that surrounding building. The room is place of representation; as a museum it represents history and arts. It is also a place of exchange of ideas, culture and people.
Notes for a traveller Fly to Zurich international airport. From there catch the train to Chur (approx. 1 hour and 40 minutes in duration). Finally, take the bus number 17 to Flims Dorf-Denter Vias stop. Cross the street and you are there.
58
Merging an old shell with a new structure
Funeral Room Resurrection Chapel Stockholm 1925 Sigurd Lewerentz
tree-lined avenue, classicist temple, offset geometry, mosaic floor, single window, coffin bed, east west axis, sunrise & rebirth, processional exit, landscaped cemetery
60
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange South of Stockholm, the Resurrection Chapel is located in the city’s ‘Woodland Cemetery’. Situated in a park of meandering paths, a distinct tree lined North-South vista clearly marks the approach and entrance to the chapel: a contrasting approach to the building’s classically Christian East-West orientation on the site. The chapel entrance on the north façade of the building is untypical of 20th Century chapels; the architect’s lack of adherence to classical rules is seen throughout the scheme. Internally there is a single window above head height on the south façade. The strong south light carves into the darkness of the unlit room immediately grasping mourners when they enter the room. The design and position of the window is so that around noon in the summer months, the light sweeps over the mosaic-tiled floor and directly illuminates the coffin bed. On exiting the building, mourners turn away from the coffin bed and leave through a separate exit on the west façade into a landscaped cemetery. The separate exit is metaphorical of mourners returning to their lives on a new route. The room in numbers 18m 7m 11.5m 1 0 12 1 2 65
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
3m 7m 42 1
level of window of ground level of organ from ground flase columns peepholes
62
Lewerentz has created an atmospheric building which connects to the city and the outside world through separation, through contemplation and ultimately through emotional escape.
Notes for a traveller From the centre of Stockholm take the green metro line towards Farsta Strand and get off at Skogskyrkogården station. Upon exiting the station, turn right and walk until you reach the main entrance to The Woodland Cemetery (Skogskyrkogården). Meander along the paths through the pine forest until you reach the ‘Seven Springs Way’, a route lined with Birch trees and Conifers. The Chapel is visible at the end of this route.
64
Chapel illumination, summer solstice
Sal贸n
Murcia Town Hall Murcia 1998 Rafael Moneo public square, baroque Cathedral, sandstone skin, high ceiling, ambiguous columns, timber panels, basalt tiles, natural light, suspended lighting, framed view
66
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The Town Hall completes the Plaza de Cardenal Belluga, a Baroque public square located at the heart of the city’s historic centre, as its facade acts as a retable to enclose the square which is parallel with the Cathedral’s own facade. The other prominent facade on the square is the brightly coloured 18th century Cardinal Belluga Palace; t he new Town Hall co-exists with the cathedral and the palace without making stylistic references or concessions. On the fourth side of the square, a series of early 20th century dwellings highlight the contrast between public and private when juxtaposed with the new civic Town Hall. Deliberately, access to the Town Hall is from Calle Frenería, is not directly from the Plaza itself.
The room in numbers 14.5m 6m 7.5m 1 0 4 3 3 28
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
3m 2m 6.8m 94 9 6
height of doorway width of doorway height of presidents window number of tiles lights mounted lights suspended
68
The Reception room is a private space used for political functions and events. It is located on 1st floor level to the east side of the building overlooking the Plaza. A single entry point and two doors provide access to the Gallery balcony. The room has a strong relationship with the square; both in terms of the view from within and its prominence on the façade. Moneo describes the pilasters on the façade as ‘filters through which the city appears to take on a new meaning’. The east elevation is punctuated by the almost full height presidential window with the Murcia coat of arms engraved on the glass which frames the view of the Plaza. The reception room is a platform for exchange between the president and Murcia’s citizens. Contrasting with the rich timber panelling of the other three walls, the use of neutral white stucco on the east internal elevation allows the view of the square and cathedral to characterise the space. In this sense, the city is perceived differently from inside the room, placing the highest importance on the baroque architecture of the past. Moneo describes the new Town Hall as striving ‘to enable the city-or rather its citizens- to see themselves through different eyes’.
Notes for a traveller Murcia Town Hall is located at the west of Cardinal Belluga Square in the heart of Murcia’s historic centre, just north of Segura River. It is a pleasant 30 minute walk from the central station. Pedestrian areas cover most of the old town but it is possible to catch a bus or taxi from the station to the north bank of the river beside the City Hall. Cardinal Belluga Square is directly behind the City Hall and its landscaped square.
70
Urban Compostion of Plaza De Cardinal Belluga
Religious and Civic dialogue
Auditorium
Tetro Olimpico Sabbioneta 1590 Vincenzo Scamozzi singular vision, renaissance city, composed grid, embedded marker, roman ambitions, permanent stage-set, forced perspective, corinthian columns, eye of the prince
72
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange Built at the pinnacle of Sabbionetas prosperity during the 16th century, the Teatro was one of the final pieces in a pre-planned urban grid which defined the city’s form and social order. It was the first purpose-built theatre since antiquity, and represents a major point in the development of the theatre typology. The Teatro serves as an urban marker protruding into the main street, and in doing so defines the path between the city’s two squares. It is also a civic connective element, between the Prince’s private & public presence and the people.
The room in numbers 27.5m 11.4m 11.4m 3 16 12 5 3 175
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
27.5m 1m 3.2m 16 4 41m
rooms within rooms elevation from piazza height of doorway statues frescoes stage area
74
The influence of Serlio’s work on Scammozzi’s design for the Teatro can be seen in the permanent forced perspective stage set. It depicts an idyllic city scene, much like the diagrams in Serlio’s second book. The frescos on either side of the stage make numerous references to ancient Rome. The depiction of Castelo Sant’Angelo on the south wall represents the Prince’s Castle directly south of the theatre. The north wall depicts the Capitoline Hill, representing the Palazzo and the Piazza Ducale directly north of the theatre. The axis created by this superimposition of Roman landmarks on to Sabbioneta, places the Teatro Olimpico directly in the theatre district of Rome. The experience of the theatre varied according to class, the stage set perspective was set up for the Prince up in his loggia. The rest of the audience had to make do with a distorted view from the benches & floor below. The entrance to the theatre was another device for social order representation; a private overpass for the Prince, a lobbied entrance for the nobles and doors directly off the street for the others.
Notes for a traveller Arriving by carriage through the north gate you are presented with what looks like a dead end, Sabbioneta is full of these. Ride on until you are faced with a choice of turning left or right, take the latter. Then, following a swift left turn you arrive on the main street, Via Gonsaga Vespasiano. The noble’s entrance to the Teatro Olimpico is on your next left.
76
An urban ideological marker
The Dukes theatrical perspective
The Dukes theatrical perspective Tetro Olimpico Sabbioneta 1590
4 rooms and Porto
Tiled Hall
S達o Bento Train Station
Wash chamber
S達o Nicolau baths and wash house
Bolhao Market
Central Stair Old Rela巽達o Prison
80
PORTO MAP
1
2
3
4
Porto Scale 1:2500
Balhao Market Porto 1914
city block, external room, wrapping faรงade, double elevation, traditional market, permanent enclosure, temporary content, stepped section, cultural exchange
82
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The traditional Bolhão Market is located in the heart of Porto in a vibrant commercial district. Dating back one hundred years, the building is dominant in the surrounding context. The scale of its shop fronts mimic the divisions of surrounding buildings, yet simultaneously read as a single wrapped façade. The building area fills an entire city block, skewed at the north edge to accommodate the neighbouring urban fabric. The internal plan remains rectangular, irregularities hidden within the peripheral inhabited wall. Embedded in the sloping topography of Porto, this external room is only visible once inside.
The room in numbers 123m 37.9m ∞ 2 12 648 0 4 -
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
1 -
number of bridges number of stalls
84
Four entrance points from three street levels, though the building border of each of the four facades provide access to the room within. The functional market space is spread over two levels: an upper gallery directly accessed from the north and the primary market level accessed directly from the south. Activity draws customers through stalls in the lower level and up a connecting stair to the gallery above, creating an ’internal’ route. The structure of steel columns and layered roofs create varying thresholds and levels of intimacy. A public and private duality between market and shop corresponds to the permanent and temporary respectively. Colourful and vibrant, the market represents Porto’s culture through the exchange of goods.
Notes for a traveller Located in the centre of Port on Rua SĂĄ da Bandeira, the market is a 7 minute walk north of SĂŁo Bento central train station. Alternatively, take your pick from several other Metro stations close by, including Trindade, Aliados and BolhĂŁo (the closest). Find the city clock with two domes and chose from one of four entrances depending on approach direction. It is open Monday-Friday 07:0017:00 and Saturday 07:00-13:00.
PRODUCED BY
L PRODUCT
86
Inhabited section
Y AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT
PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATION
Wash chamber
SĂŁo Nicolau baths and wash house Porto 1992 Paulo ProvidĂŞncia wash house, public space, submerged underground, series of thresholds, concrete chamber, window to outside, light from above, patterns of life
88
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange The São Nicolau wash house sits on the bank of the Douro River, adjacent to the historic centre. Constructed by the city council in 1992, São Nicolau was an addition to the existing network of wash houses in Porto, which provided the general public with much needed washing facilities. The public washrooms in addition to their main use have become social spaces, and as such play an integral part in the public life of the city. The wash house is hidden to the passer by, it is submerged, underground, it is part of the ground the city stands on. A small level piazza is formed by the roof of the wash house, a rarity in Porto’s terrain. The paved piazza facilitates a different aspect of life to the one going on below, it is a symbiosis.
The room in numbers 17m 4m 4m 2 12 0 1 8 1
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
70c
cost for cubicle use
90
Accessed from a pedestrian lane, the entry door discreetly tucked into the wall, a series of ramps lead down through the building, turning left then right, an extension of the street just left behind. The destination is a sky lit concrete chamber, entered into from either of the narrow ends. The concrete that envelopes the space reinforces the underground feel as well as creating a sense of stillness and separation from the activity above. There are two visual connections to the external world. The first, in the roof of the concrete chamber, directly above the basins, gives the view of the sky above. The second, a narrow slit at pavement level, at the start of the second ramp, orientates, provides you with a relative position to the street. The two are visually mutually exclusive, except in one carefully composed spot. The washhouse is endemic of Porto and its topography. Multiple levels, zenithal light and subterranean inhabitation are all common building traits in Porto. The washroom represents the city by responding to it in a vocabulary that is familiar to its inhabitants.
Notes for a traveller Take the metro to Sao Bento metro station. Follow Rua Mouzinho da Silveria down towards the waterfront. At the waterfront turn left onto Rua Reboleira. The door to the washhouse is tucked in on the right. There will be an attendant at the door to facilitate your needs.
92
The view in / The view out
An internal street of sloped surfaces
Stairwell
Old Relação Prison Porto 1916 functional duality, insular route, public subtraction, solid void, worn nostalgia, exposed public procession, on looking exchange
94
History, city, representation & exchange The Cadeia da Relação, re-built in 1796, contained the court of appeal within the prisons triangular form. The public route surrounded by a series of insular cells presents a functional duality. Within the solidity of the building, the carved stone stair wraps round a central atrium, once expose to the sky. Its function by nature separates room from city.
The room in numbers 37.3m 15.7m 17.2m 3 148 8 11 13 2
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
2
lion statues
96
The atrium is wrapped by an ascending staircase; taller than its width, accessible off the main foyer space toward the north of the building. The room has seven windows, all inward looking, the only connection to outside is up. This glazed atrium is the only source of light; the height of which prevents the light from ever touching the ground surface, casting the floor in constant shadow. Forty three worn stone steps separate the atrium from the cells above; plaster, smeared between stone details, hide the carved nature of the space. These rooms contain nothing; only the memory of use, archived in the materials pores, such as the drain in the middle of the atrium: exposing the true nature of the now sealed external atrium.
Notes for a traveller Located in the Historic District of Porto, The former Prison is nestled intimately into the historic fabric of this part of town, other landmarks such as the Cordoaria garden and the Sao Bento da Vitoria surrounds the triangular building. To find the staircase within the prison first travel to the famous Sao bento Train Station. After exiting the station head west along the busy Rua 31 de Janiero road. Approximately 500 metres along the road you will encounter the Cordoaria Garden with the Prison on the opposite side of the road. After entering the Prisons large double door entrance, head into the centre of the building to discover the staircase.
98
Unfolded stairwell elevation
Tiled Hall
SĂŁo Bento Train Station Porto 1916 JosĂŠ Marques da Silva impressive scale, classical order, azulejo panels, historic depictions, symmetrical openings, ornate details, stained glass, thresholds filters, zero function, paths converging.
100
0 1
3
5
10
History, city, representation & exchange São Bento train station stands on the exact site of a former Benedictine monastery from the 16th century. The monastery was named Convent of São Bento de Avé-Maria, hence the station’s name. The station was designed by the Porto-born architect José Marques da Silva. It was comissioned through a need for a station closer to the centre because until its construction in 1916, Campanhã was Porto’s most central station.
The room in numbers 50m 20m 15.5m 1 0 0 3 12 0
length width height levels steps columns windows doors seats
20k 12.5m 1 1
blue tiles heigh of main window information screens clocks
102
Behind its impressive façade, is the vast tiled hall vestibule, which is decorated with a remarkable set of tiles that took Jorge Colaço, a painter specialised in designing and painting azulejo panels, 11 years to complete. The impressive 20 thousand, azulejo tin-glazed ceramic tiles depict several historical events. These include King João I and Queen Philippa of Lancaster by Porto’s cathedral in 1387, the meeting of the knight Egas Moniz of León and Alfonso VII of Castile (12th century), Prince Henry the Navigator conquering Ceuta (1415) and a representation of the Battle of Arcos de Valdevez (1140), as well as the history of transportation. The historic scenes represented in Jorge Colaço’s tile paintings are vital to the overall impact that the space has on commuters and visitors. The space is entirely public and permeable, has 16 doorways in total and is perfectly symetrical in its construction. It can be viewed as a ‘threshold’ between the city of Porto and the outside world, a contemplative space and a stopping point in a a journey and a continuation of the city.
Notes for a traveller The easiest and most obvious way of reaching the tiled hall is by catching a train, directly to São Bento Station. Alternatively, follow Avenida Dom Afonso Henriques which bisects the city, extending from the Dom Luís Bridge to the station’s impressive western elevation.
104
Symmetry and historic representation
Room as the threshold to the city